Over the next century it operated as one of the state's main hospitals for the mentally ill and also worked with people with developmental disabilities and chemical dependency issues.

Activities like farming and sewing provided occupational therapy and useful goods, but patients complained that they felt like chores.

[4] After World War II, drug therapy led to better outpatient care, and the entire Minnesota hospital system was scaled back.

Since its founding, the Fergus Falls institution had primarily served people with mental illnesses.

After 1970, the institution began accepting patients with developmental disabilities and chemical dependencies as well because they lived in Northwestern or West Central Minnesota.

In 1985, the hospital's name was changed to the Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center to reflect its new mission.

The Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center closed in 2005 after gradually moving patients to smaller, community-based facilities for two decades.

Yet the city of Fergus Falls argued that the building was too large for a small town to redevelop or maintain and has considered demolishing it.

[7] In May 2013, the City Council considered plans to renovate the building for residential and commercial use by two different developers, including one with experience in preservation of historic properties.

Fergus Falls officials requested $8.9 million of the state's bonding bill to preserve the vacant tower building, which would be the only structure of the site left standing.

[12] The state granted $3.5 million for the project in May 2018, and demolition began with the mid-century administration building, constructed in the 1950s.

[14][15] Selected artists reside in apartments which were formerly a nurses' dormitory, creating a variety of art projects that often reflect on the history of the building and comment on the past and present of mental health treatment.

[16][14] Springboard hosted an annual Kirkbride Arts & History Weekend from 2013 to 2017, featuring tours, music, and speakers focusing on mental health and historic preservation.